Joe Duffy to be named honorary Cork person at annual gala awards lunch
The Dublin native will be presented with a Republic of Cork passport and a commemorative piece of Cork Crystal at the Cork Person of the Year event which will be held in the Metropole Hotel.
He will present his last Liveline on Friday June 27.
RTÉ said it would run a process over the coming months to appoint Duffy's successor with an announcement expected in the autumn.
Born in January 1956, in Mountjoy Square, Dublin, and raised in Ballyfermot, Duffy originally pursued social work at Trinity College.
He became one of the first from his area to go to Trinity College and was actively involved in student politics and went on to serve as President of the Union of Students in Ireland.
He led protests on campus highlighting access to education and spent two weeks in Mountjoy Prison as a result.
After working in the probation service, he joined RTÉ originally as a radio producer, in 1989, and came to prominence as a reporter on the legendary Gay Byrne Show.
The 69-year-old has been a recipient of many awards during his acclaimed career, including a Jacob's Award in 1992 for his work on The Gay Byrne Show, various IMRO Awards and he was also inducted into the PPI Hall of Fame in 2013.
He has written his autobiography Just Joe and two award-winning history books, Children of the Rising and Children of the Troubles (with Freya McClements).
Awards organiser and founder Manus O'Callaghan said Mr Duffy is truly one of Ireland's great broadcasters. 'In lending a compassionate ear to his Liveline listeners for the past 27 years, he has given voice to many and shed light on innumerable significant societal issues.
"It will be a true honour to accept him into our ranks as an Honorary Corkperson at next January's lunch, in a year that also marks 100 years of radio in Ireland,' he added.
Each year the Cork Persons of Year Awards Scheme anoints a national figure, who's not from Cork but admired across the county, as an Honorary Cork Person.
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